In the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 5-0 victory over the Athletics today, Colon threw a 94 mph fastball that darted with so much movement, Kouzmanoff had no choice but to watch a third strike cross home plate. Really, that one pitch alone answered manager Joe Girardi’s question, though he asked it of his pitcher anyway.

Did Colon have one more dominant inning left in his 38-year-old right arm?

“He told me he had two more in him,” Girardi said. “I said, ‘Well, I don’t want to go two more. I want this to be it.’ He said he was great.”

Colon looked great in the ninth inning as well, allowing a leadoff double before squeezing the last signs of life from the A’s, en route to capping his first shutout since 2006. In what has already been a remarkable season for the new Yankee, he added a signature moment.

“It means a lot to me, and I thanked the manager (for letting me) pitch the ninth inning,” Colon said through a translator.

In nine innings, Colon needed just 103 pitches to scatter four hits against an overmatched A’s offense.

First baseman Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer in the first inning and two batters later, Robinson Cano followed with a run-scoring double. Given a 3-0 lead before he threw his first pitch, Colon seized command of the proceedings, the result of a perfect storm.

For all their riches when it comes to young, talented pitching, the A’s have proven themselves woefully incompetent at the plate. They rank in the bottom three in the AL in average, on-base percentage, slugging, home runs and runs scored per game, among other categories.

When pitted against Colon, they looked overmatched. Through five innings, the A’s only hit came on Josh Willingham’s leadoff double in the second inning, which reached the fence.

“He was outstanding again,” Girardi said. “His location was great. I thought one of the keys too was, after we got the 3-0 lead, second inning, Willingham leads off with a double. And they don’t score. It just showed you how on he was today. We’ve seen it before. When his location is as good as it is today, it’s hard to score runs.”

For all the questions swirling around him — How long can he maintain this pace? Were his stem cell treatments done in accordance to baseball’s doping rules? — Colon has remained consistent. As he brought the A’s to their knees, Colon worked the Yankees’ dugout, cracking jokes with teammates in between stringing together his masterpiece.

Colon, who improved to 3-3 with a 3.26 ERA, has pitched so steadily since spring training that teammates have come to expect strong starts.

“He’s been doing it since what, the middle of February?” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. “So it’s not surprising.”

The unusual part, at least to Teixeira, is when Colon encounters a little trouble,

“It’s like a surprise when he gives up hits because he’s just been throwing the ball so well,” Teixeira said.

By the end of the eighth, Colon had allowed just three hits, though he left a lasting image by dusting Kouzmanoff with a lively fastball. With a five-run cushion, Girardi made a relatively easy decision.

After a year and a half out of the game, after battling injuries to his shoulder and elbow, after virtually nobody thought it would be possible, Colon had earned his chance to put a stamp on his revival.

“I feel really good right now,” Colon said, shortly after his ninth career shutout. “It doesn’t matter if I’m 38 years old. I feel really good right now.”